Bishop’s Buffet is a name that’s new to the East Valley but familiar to former Iowans.

Priests throughout the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix read a letter over the weekend from Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted to parishioners, asking them to pray for Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien, Jim L. Reed and their families.

The hit-and-run case of Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien is still causing a stir, even though it’s been nearly two weeks since a judge spared the former Catholic leader jail time and sentenced him to 1,000 hours of community service.

Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien's sentencing could examine a lifelong pattern of covering up wrongdoing.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge denied Bishop Thomas O’Brien’s request Thursday to move his fatal hit-and-run trial out of Maricopa County.

Many East Valley Catholics reacted with surprise to the appointment of Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted as new leader of the Phoenix Diocese, with some welcoming a fresh face and others hopeful he will move quickly to connect with church members.

LOS ANGELES - Joey Bishop, the stone-faced comedian who found success in nightclubs, television and movies but became most famous as a member of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, has died at 89.

Last May, a man climbed out of the swimming pool at El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, where the Lutherans’ Grand Canyon Synod was meeting to choose a new bishop. “Do you want this job?” the dripping man quizzed the Rev. Steve Talmage, a Peoria pastor and bishop finalist.

Services for Monsignor Edward Ryle, longtime lobbyist for Arizona’s Catholic bishops, are scheduled for Thursday at St. Augustine’s Cathedral in Tucson.

The Old Mass has regained critical mass in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. The one-year experiment to determine whether enough Valley Catholics wanted Masses in Latin — the mother tongue of the church — has ended.

The Old Mass has regained critical mass in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. The one-year experiment to determine whether enough Valley Catholics wanted Masses in Latin — the mother tongue of the church — has ended.

February 25, 2005

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted dedicated a new playground Thursday — but it was the health of Pope John Paul II that absorbed his thoughts as he sprinkled holy water and blessed the play area at Christ the King Catholic Church and school, 1551 E. Dana Ave., in Mesa.

United Methodists elected their first female Hispanic this weekend as the next bishop for the Desert Southwest Annual Conference, a region including all of Arizona, southern Nevada and the California cities along the Colorado River.

With pomp, pageantry and a colorful procession to rival the majestic Anglican rites of London’s Westminster Cathedral, the Rev. Kirk Stevan Smith will be ordained and consecrated today as the fifth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted and his Kansas family will arrive late this afternoon at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for his formal installation Saturday as the fourth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix since its formation in 1969.